Nicolaas van der Waay

His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.

Nicolaas van der Waay studied at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten. Training under August Allebé and Barend Wijnveld is recorded. Gijsbertus Derksen, Tjeerd Bottema and Leo Gestel are recorded as having studied under Nicolaas van der Waay. Places of work recorded in the authority are Amsterdam, Natura Artis Magistra and Italy. Works named in the authority record are Willem Steelink II (1856-1928). Work by Nicolaas van der Waay is recorded in the collections of Amsterdam Museum, Fries Museum, Dordrechts Museum, Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

• Name — Nicolaas van der Waay • Born — 15 October 1855 • Birthplace — Amsterdam • Died — 18 December 1936 • Place of death — Amsterdam • Occupation — Artist

His first drawing lessons came from Louis Koopman (1827-1877), whose daughter he would later marry. He then enrolled at the Rijksacademie, where he studied from 1871 to 1875. After graduating, he shared a workshop with one of his classmates, Jan Hillebrand Wijsmuller. In 1880, the Arti et Amicitiae society awarded him their first Willink van Collenprijs for his painting "Among Friends". He then moved into a larger studio with Ernst Witkamp, who had also been a student of Koopman's and, a few years later, was able to establish his own. In 1883, he entered the competition for the Prix de Rome, but no prize was awarded that year due to an insufficient number of entries. Instead, August Allebé was able to obtain a ministerial grant that enabled him to make a study trip to Italy. On his return, he became a lecturer at the Rijksacademie; a position he held for thirty years. In 1891, he was named a Professor, succeeding Barend Wijnveld, who had retired, and remained in that position until his own retirement in 1927. Around 1900, he came under the influence of Isaac Israëls, adopting a freer brushstroke and more Impressionistic style. He also did book illustrations, notably for The Enchanted Ravine, a work of juvenile fiction by Cora van Berckel-van Heek (1840-1920). In 1915, he did watercolor illustrations for the Festschrift dedicated to Coenraad Kerbert, the Director of Artis. In 1922, he joined the "Maatschappij voor Kunst en Kunstverlangenden", a new organization founded by the painter Jan de Boer (schilder 1877-1946). Its goal was to bring art to the "common people" at affordable prices. Among his best known students were Lizzy Ansingh, Tjeerd Bottema, Piet Mondriaan and Jan Sluijters.